Published online June 1, 2017
Soil evolution
par for the [golf] course
In 2008, Glen Obear was interning at a golf course in
Hawaii when the superintendent asked him to help
diagnose a mysterious problem. Some of the courses
putting greens were developing bald
patches, spots where the turfgrasses
were dying and thinning out. The
failures were troubling because the
expensive, exquisitely crafted greens
were just five years old. A new green
is normally expected to last at least
five times as long.
The superintendent suspected
the issue lay not with the turfgrass
itself but with the constructed soils
underneath, known in the industry
as modified root zones. Carefully
engineered to resist compaction and
promote drainagewhile also retain-
ing enough water for plant lifethese
soils are usually composed of 30 cm
of sand over a layer of gravel. But
when Obear and the superintendent
dug into one, they found something
curious: a red layer of cemented mate-
rial about a foot down that appeared
to be impeding drainage. No one had
seen anything quite like it before, so
Obearthen a University of Wiscon-
sinMadison (UW-Madison) under-
4 CSA News June 2017
by Madeline Fisher
graduatetook a chunk home with
him to Wisconsin.
His colleagues at first were under-
whelmed. To be honest, I was not
interested in this when Glen started,
says Doug Soldat, a UW-Madison
extension specialist in turfgrass
management and urban soils who was
Obears masters degree adviser at
the time. But I let him do it, and Im
really glad I did. The pair eventually
found similar layers beneath putting
greens in nearly 30 U.S. golf courses,
including one in Madison. Obear went
on to investigate why the layers devel-
op and is now spearheading research
at University of NebraskaLincoln
(where hes currently a Ph.D. student)
that should one day help golf course
managers prevent the strange layers
from forming.
Along the way, the team discovered
something else: The layers werent so
strange after all, but merely evidence
of what all soils doage and evolve.
The big difference is that in [turf]
soils, it happens quickly because you
Photo courtesy of the USGA
irrigate them, and you apply lots of
iron and fertilizer, says UW-Madison
pedologist Alfred Hartemink, who
chairs the UW-Madison Department
of Soil Science. But there is some-
thing happening that we can explain.
Its soil formation.
As the Soil Ages
A putting green may seem delicate,
but its actually one tough surface.
Although greens make up just 2% or
so of a golf courses area, they are the
spots where all play converges. Plus,
the grassesmowed to heights of less
than a centimeterare under tremen-
dous stress. So, the soil basically
needs to be perfect, Soldat says.
The U.S. Golf Association (USGA)
recognized this way back in the 1950s
and has been designing, researching,
and tweaking its sand-based root
zones to meet exacting standards
ever since. To ensure these soils
continue providing ample air space
for plant roots as golfers walk around
on top, their primary component is
sandpreferably coarse to medium in
size and angular in shape. You really
cant over-compact a sand to the point
where the grass will decline, Soldat
explains. Sand also keeps the surface
dry for golfing by facilitating rapid
infiltration of water.
However, its also not good for
grasses if the green dries out too
quickly. This is where the gravel layer
underneath comes in. The presence of
fine-textured sand atop a coarse grav-
el creates a textural discontinuity
that boosts the water-holding capacity
of the sand. The design is beautiful
in this regard, Soldat says, and many
people outside the golf industry today
agree. The USGAs basic putting green
design is being adapted by athletic
fields and heavily trafficked green
spaces around the country, including
those of the Green Bay Packers, the
Milwaukee Brewers, and the National
Mall in Washington, DC.
Tough as they are, though, modi-
fied root zones arent immune to the
passage of timesomething that golf
course managers have realized from
the start. Still, this issue of root zone
aging wasnt formally studied until
the 1990s. It began when Bob Car-
row, a University of Georgia turfgrass
scientist, was asked to investigate a
seasonal thinning of turfgrasses in
the Southeast, known then as sum-
mer bentgrass decline. Most people
attributed the decline to disease. But
Carrow disagreed.
Bob was really innovative, says
University of NebraskaLincoln turf
science professor, Roch Gaussoin. He
said, No, this is due to excessive or-
ganic matter accumulation at the sur-
face of the green as it matures, and the
aggressive way we manage bentgrass
for golf greens. As Carrow went on
to describe, the heavily irrigated and
fertilized bentgrasses were growing
roots at such a rate that microbial
decomposition couldnt keep pace and
organic matter (OM) was building up
rapidly in the soil. Once the thatch
reached a critical level, infiltration
slowed and oxygen concentrations
dropped. These changes, in turn,
deprived the grasses of oxygen, fos-
tered anaerobic microbial activity, and
caused other issues.
The problems that Carrow ob-
served were somewhat extreme,
Gaussoin says, because Carrow was
studying a cool-season grass in the by 40% over time, and infiltration
humid Southeast. So, shortly after- rates decreased by 70 to 75%.
ward, Gaussoin and several Univer- But another key finding was that
sity of Nebraska colleagues launched OM can be kept at manageable levels
their own USGA-funded study: a through routine golf course prac-
10-year experiment to understand ticesespecially topdressing, where
how soil physical properties change as sand is brushed weekly or biweekly
golf greens age. To gain even broader onto greens. Topdressing was nothing
insight, they followed up in 2006 to new at the time; it had been used for
2008 with a survey of 300 putting years to keep thatch at bay, Gaussoin
greens on more than 100 golf courses says, along with cultivation. What the
in 15 states. research did, however, was validate
What they found is that regardless the wisdom and efficacy of this gen-
of location, annual rainfall, construc- eral recommendation.
tion methods, and other factors, OM The pioneers of greens manage-
levels do increase in sand-based put- mentthe generation before meal-
ting green soils as they get older. In ways said, You need to dilute that
the survey, the average OM concentra- organic matter at the surface [with
tion in the soils was 3%, with levels sand] or youre going to have prob-
reaching 8% or more in
some cases. The Ne-
braska experiment further
showed that air-filled
pore space was reduced
Below: The effect of age
on water infiltration for
two USGA-recommended
putting green root zones at
the University of Nebraska.
Root zone effect was not
signicantly different after
eight years. Source: USGA.
Right: a profile showing the
organic matter accumula-
tion on the surface in the
topdressing layer. Source:
Roch Gaussoin.

June 2017 CSA News 5

 Science
lems, Gaussoin says. And what
we found with multiple years of data
and multiple studies is that topdress-
ing is the most important component
in managing organic matter in golf
course greens.
Its just one example of how the
turf industrys 50 years of experience
with constructed root zones helps
todays managers tackle specific prob-
lems. But there is also a larger lesson
here for people just getting started in
soil engineering.
What happens as the soil ages is
the big take-home message, says Bill
Kreuser, a University of Nebraska
Lincoln turfgrass extension specialist
and Obears Ph.D. adviser. I think
we get so caught up in the specs for
construction that we forgetor un-
derappreciatejust how dynamic the
system is.
Light and frequent sand topdressing
creates smooth, firm putting surfaces.
Source: USGA. Inset: Iron- and manga-
nese-cemented layer at the interface of
sand and gravel (30-cm depth) on a golf
course in Wisconsin. Source: Glen Obear.
6 CSA News June 2017
Iron Layers
The situation was quite different
when Soldat and Obear began study-
ing the unusual chunk of cemented
material from the Hawaiian course.
There was no vast turf science litera-
ture or management expertise to tap
into because no one had described
such a thing in a putting green before.
But it turned out the material was
known, and it took UW-Madison
pedologists Hartemink and Jim Bock-
heim just a short time to identify it.
The layer looked like rust, and thats
what it was, says Obear, who invited
the UW soil scientists to inspect it. A
red, crusty, impermeable pan layer of
iron oxide.
Iron layers often develop in iron-
rich Spodosols, typically in places
where a waterlogged, oxygen-deplet-
ed soil layer sits above a drier, more
oxygenated one. The difference in
redox potential across the boundary
causes soluble, reduced iron in water
to precipitate out as iron oxidece-
menting clays and soil organic matter
together in the process. Over decades
or centuries, the accumulating iron
forms an impermeable pan, called a
placic horizon in soil taxonomy. Bock-
heim, in fact, had published a paper
on placic horizons.
Why similar layers were devel-
oping beneath putting greens in a
fraction of the time remained unclear,
but the literature on natural soils
offered an excellent place to start. I
hadnt worked in these soils before,
Hartemink says. But you take what
you know about the processes in other
soils and apply them to the construct-
ed soil. By doing that, we found an
effective way to explain the formation
of these iron layers in the turfgrass
soils.
The model that Obear, Soldat,
and Hartemink ended up propos-
ing focuses on the interface of sand
and gravel in constructed root zones.
Their hypothesis is that this textural
discontinuityso useful for hold-
ing moisture in the sand for turf-
grassesinadvertently sets up the
conditions for iron layer formation: a
saturated, sand layer sitting above a
drier, more oxygenated gravel. When
reduced iron reaches this boundary,
it precipitates as iron oxide, just as in
Spodosols. The team also found iron
layers beneath the topsoil in some
greens although these layers were less
strongly cemented than those at the
sand-gravel interface.
Obear is quick to point out, how-
ever, that while iron layers have now
been identified in turfgrass soils in
more than 30 sites, they dont occur
everywhere. Right now, were still
trying to answer the basic question
of why they form in some soils and
not others, he says. One factor may
be the iron fertilizer that managers
often add to greens. Applied to make
turfgrasses greener without stimulat-
ing their growth, the extra iron may
increase the risk of a cemented pan
forming below.
Experiments by Obear and Kreuser
at University of Nebraska also suggest
pH is important. In a natural soil, the
pH is defined by thousands of years
of rainfall and the mineralogy, Obear
says. But in an engineered soil, you
might bring in sand from Florida and
limestone [gravel] from the South-
west. So, you can have some really
odd combinations of pH. When the
difference is largefor example, when
an acidic sand sits atop an alkaline
gravela pH boundary develops
that also encourages iron oxidation,
Kreuser says. So, its early, but were
pretty confident at this point that
matching the pH of the sand and
gravel will help.
That said, he, Obear, and Soldat are
reluctant to give formal recommenda-
tions to golf course managers until
they fully understand the contributing
factorsespecially when the advice
may add expense. One of the issues
were running into is, how do we keep
the cost down? Soldat says. Because
if we start specifying the pH of the
June 2017 CSA News 7
Dig Deeper
Slides, audio, and video from a symposium at last years ASA, CSSA, and
SSSA Annual Meeting titled, Manufactured, Blended, and Engineered
Soils for Urban Applications are available in the ACSESS Digital Library at
https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/meetings/2016am/16011.
sand and the gravel, then we also a practical action to take, but its a
have to start going further away to get frameshift in thinking about these
those source materials. soils.
The scientists will say this, though: Changeand the problems it often
Anyone who works with engineered bringsare indeed par for the course;
soils today needs to consider not just the trick is to persevere and stay curi-
the physical specifications, such as ous, Soldat adds.
particle sizes, porosity, and drainage Youre going to see failures all the
rates, but redox potential, pH, and time in engineered mediarain gar-
other chemical properties, as well. dens, rooftop mixes, putting greens,
Largely overlooked in soil engineer- athletic fields, he says. The easy
ing specs to date, the chemistry, thing to do is say, Lets tear it up and
were discovering, is really important rebuild it. The harder thing to do is
and where we need more guidance, to ask,Why? Can we figure out why?
Kreuser says. So, when something fails, really pay
Then, as Gaussoin and his col- attention to it. And if you dont under-
leagues demonstrated a decade ago stand why it failed, thats an opportu-
with soil physical properties, people nity.
should be prepared for the ground
doi:10.2134/csa2017.62.0616
to shift, quite possibly in
unpredictable and confus-
ing ways. The engineer-
ing specs take you to Day
Tell Us What You Think
1, and then evolution Rate this article and give us ideas for future
happens and the soil starts articles at
changing, Obear says. www.research.net/r/CL8M7RF
That doesnt give people
Glen Obear conducting a pedologi-
cal investigation of a putting green in
Mississippi. These greens were being
removed and replaced due to drainage
failure from layers that had formed be-
tween the interface of sand and gravel.